Residents are predicting more deaths on a road that has already claimed the lives of three people.

They are demanding an investigation into how a 500m stretch of the A27 from Durrington to Castle Goring can be made safer.

Sharon Hewer, 38, of Hobart Close, Worthing, William Hancock, 37, from Billingshurst, and 39-year-old Ivor Bingham, from Sherbourne, Dorset, were killed when a van crashed into their stationary Mazda outside the Coach and Horses pub on December 22.

Weeks later, a man was taken to hospital after a two-car collision near Castle Goring.

Residents say they have witnessed countless accidents over the years and insist action is taken before more lives are lost.

Staff at the pub have been calling for safety moves for three years but so far, their efforts have been in vain.

Tim De Luca Smith, of Hollyacres, Worthing, launched the campaign group Safer Roads 4 Worthing. He said: "As you leave Worthing, the speed limit suddenly shoots up from 40mph to 70mph. As soon as drivers see the dual carriageway they put their foot to the floor. They need to extend the 40mph zone to Castle Goring.

"The crash before Christmas really brought it home. People knew them. They weren't just strangers driving through Worthing - they lived here, they went to the pub here."

Mr De Luca Smith, 30, said elderly residents in Castle Goring had to cross the busy dual carriageway to catch the only bus that serves the area.

He added: "Accidents happen almost once a month but I don't know if they are all recorded. There are cars going off the road quite regularly."

Grahame Malcolmson, 48, of Castle Goring Mews, said: "If nothing is done, somebody is going to become another statistic and none of us want to be in that position.

"My dog was hit by a van last year and one day it could be a child that gets knocked down.

"Three years ago, there were proposals to put lights up but we have not heard anything about it since. There is even a footpath that crosses the A27."

Pub landlord Peter Bond said: "It seems ludicrous nothing has been done before. Is the Highways Agency waiting for another death? We should never have had one, let alone three."

Peter Bottomley, Worthing West MP, has pledged his support for the campaign and is to raise the issue in Parliament.

He said: "We need measures in place to reduce speed. It may mean leaving Worthing ten seconds later but it will dramatically cut the risks for residents and travellers on these roads.

"The next time the Prime Minister travels along the A27, he needs to be briefed to look at this stretch of road."

The Highways Agency last night refused to commit itself to an investigation.

A spokeswoman said: "We cannot comment on specific accidents."